SPELLING BEE ADDS DEFINING MOMENTS

The vocabulary tests will take place in private rooms and will not be part of the television broadcasts, but they will count for 50 percent of the point totals that determine the semifinalists and finalists.

“In the long run, I think it’s a change for the better because it tests spellers’ all-around knowledge of the word as opposed to just the spelling of the word,” said 13-year-old Arvind Mahankali, also one of the favorites after finishing third the past two years.

But what about right now? Arvind and the rest of the 281 spellers in this year’s bee now have less than two months to change their study habits ahead of the May 28-30 competition near Washington.

“I’m just going to review all the words for their meanings one more time, if I have enough time,” said Arvind, of Forrest Hills, N.Y. “But it’s going to be a little difficult to adjust to this right now.”

Shivashankar, who coached daughter Kavya to the 2009 title and now coaches Vanya, said he thinks there’s a good purpose behind the changes, but he wishes they had been announced at the start of the school year.

While Shivashankar was concerned about the anxiety the changes could add to an already nerve-racking competition, his daughter already sounded ready to tackle the challenge.

“We’re just going to try to our best and understand the words more,” Vanya said. “Before we were studying the roots, and now we’re using the root to understand what it means, which we kind of did before, but we have to spend more time on each word, understanding every single part of it.”